With the No. 5 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers selected Devin White, linebacker out of LSU. A physical tackler with sideline-to-sideline speed, White is exactly what NFL teams are looking for in a linebacker. Sometimes a step slow on play-action reads -- but can often make up for it with speed, quickness and athleticism.
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Buccaneers: B
Pete Prisco: I think he's a good player and I think he's gonna add to that defense. He's a three-down player and can run, but he's an off-the-ball linebacker and position value is changing a little bit. I would have taken Josh Allen here or even Ed Oliver.
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Fantasy impact
Dave Richard: Devin White is an instant replacement for Kwon Alexander in the Bucs' front seven. Easily the best linebacker prospect in the draft, White is fast, powerful and aggressive. Bank on him getting picked as a top-30 linebacker in IDP leagues with a middle- to late-round pick. But the Buccaneers DST is far from a complete unit and is undergoing a scheme change with Todd Bowles assigning his 3-4 scheme. A home game against the 49ers isn't juicy enough to consider them a streaming option based solely on the addition of White. That puts them out of the Draft Day conversation.
NFL comparison: Myles Jack
Chris Trapasso: Like Jack, White is a create-a-player type of linebacker, a chiseled 240-pounder with incendiary athleticism, hard-hitting tendencies, and scary, sideline-to-sideline speed. Both are better at delivering a major jolt to offensive linemen scraping to the second level than they are efficiently shedding them, but the physicality and aggression aspects of their games stand out in every contest. White's tackling and coverage skills improved in 2018 but, like Jack, at times, his engine is revving so much that he arrives on the scene out of control which leads to some misses in space.
College career
Ryan Wilson: White played in eight games as a freshman and had one sack, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. As a sophomore, he 4.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss and an interception. And last season, as a junior, White logged three sacks, 12 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.
Among all FBS linebackers, White ranked 15th in Pro Football Focus' pass-rush productivity metric but was 70th in tackling efficiency.
Strengths
Ryan Wilson: A physical tackler with sideline-to-sideline speed, White is exactly what NFL teams are looking for in a linebacker. He's better as a run stopper than in coverage but his athleticism allows him to make up for any shortcomings in that area.
The closing speed boggles the mind:
LB Devin White with the Sack late in the 4th Quarter. pic.twitter.com/VGSmHfoUO4
— Josh Lemoine (@LsuFBallTruth) September 23, 2018
And even when White isn't getting the sack he's still affecting the play -- by way of penalty:
Here's Devin White impacting the game as a pass rusher without recording a hurry or a sack. Killed Auburn's last two drives by drawing flags. pic.twitter.com/0hHUQVV2Ca
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) September 17, 2018
Weaknesses
Ryan Wilson: Sometimes a step slow on play-action reads -- but can often make up for it with speed, quickness and athleticism. Played a lot of zone at LSU and questions about whether he can evolve into a good man-coverage defender.